Metta World Peace Defends Mikal Bridges Amid Criticism, Says Knicks “Can Win the Finals"

As criticism mounts around Mikal Bridges’ recent scoring dip, New York native Metta World Peace is stepping in with a very different take: stop looking at the box score and start respecting the grind.

In a interview with POLARIS, Metta pushed back on the growing narrative that Bridges isn’t delivering offensively, reframing the conversation around the players durability and effort that wins big games in May and June.

“The thing about Bridges is he don’t miss games" Metta tells POLARIS. "Imagine being a construction worker and going to work every day and not missing no days. That’s Bridges.” 

Metta’s point is simple: while other players manage workloads or miss time, Bridges shows up every night. Knicks teammate Josh Hart made similar comments supporting his teammate. Today ESPN's "First Take" show host Stephen A. Smith asked Hart to "have a seat" in response, doubling-down on his ongoing criticism of Bridge's play as of recently.

“He’s supposed to defend his teammate, I get that" Stphen A Smith told his viewers in regards to Josh Hart. "But that doesn’t mean the criticism isn’t warranted" adding "Josh Hart, I love you, but have a seat.”

Metta World Peace, an NBA champion known for his grind style-play, says the criticism of Bridges misses the bigger picture.

“Soomeday he gonna have off days because he ain’t missing no days. You don’t see everybody else’s days because they’re not going to work. He’s setting the tone for the future. Come to practice and come to work. I think people just missing the point. I love Bridges.” 

Metta didn’t stop at defending Bridges, he went full bold-prediction mode on the New York Knicks' title run this year.

“I would not be surprised if the Knicks win the finals this year under the leadership of Brunson" Metta proclaimed.

Point taken.